Firefighting service declare biggest fire in Israel’s history over, 82 hours after it broke out. Forces to remain at scene to prevent blaze from re-erupting. Ynet brings you summary of national disaster, which claimed lives of 41 people

This week has been an intensive seminar in issues surrounding the Holocaust. We’ve dealt with issues of fascism, conflict, fear and oppression – all issues that permeate everyday life for most of the students and teachers of Israel. Today is Holocaust Day, Yom haShoah. Today the day is marked worldover.

Our school had a ceremony conducted by Grade 11s who chose to read statements from those who’ve been personally affected by the Holocaust – whether through ancestors, or associations, or music or any number of triggers that exist as a constant reminder that Israel is home to those who were homeless.

Swiss protest: The Swiss president’s decision to meet with Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has upset some of his countrymen, prompting a local high school history teacher to send Hans-Rudolf Merz a harsh letter denouncing his actions.

In his letter, history teacher Jean-Francois Bussy expressed his “dismay” over his president’s meeting with Ahmadinejad, noting that the “intentions and convictions of that man were already known.”

“I thus estimate that your meeting with him was a mistake, even an insult to democracy in general, and to Israel, the only true democracy in the Near East,” Bussy wrote.

Click onto the above link to read the rest. I found it interesting that the world votes for or against Durban II, noise and counter-noise, praise and acceptance of the Iranian leader or shock and dismay that the man is being given a platform to preach his diatribe. This Swiss teacher, however, has no problem in stating his opinion that neutrality doesn’t exist where fascism is given free reign.

Bussy continues: “In a conversation with Ynet Tuesday, Bussy further stressed his disappointment.

“How could it be that people in Switzerland are sent to prison for anti-Semitism and Shoah-denial, while our president receives a man known as an anti-Semite, a Nazi, and one who wishes to destroy Israel?” he said. “It’s a shame to host such person on our soil. He came here to spread his poison to the world, and we’re giving him a platform.”

Bussy also dismissed Switzerland’s argument of neutrality, saying that “neutrality has boundaries too.”

“Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East, and we, as democrats, cannot just stand idly by,” he said. “You can’t be neutral when someone wishes to destroy another country. Neutrality ends at that point.”

He says it well.

This has been a very long day.

In other news, again we had a Seminar concerning students with PDD, pervasive developmental disorder. Shirley Kaplan came again to speak to us, as she did last summer. This time she specifically touched on issues we have with students of jr and sr high school. She spoke of basic lack of social skills in understanding codes both spoken and ephemeral. She spoke of not knowing how to pick up signals or make their own problems clear to others. She then offered us clear instructions as to how to teach models of behaviour, including even hygiene and how to make friends.

Less than 24 hours before cabinet meets to decide whether to accept ceasefire draft, IDF continues to strike in Strip. Dozens of Palestinians killed Friday, some of them civilians. Commanders, soldiers not ordered to slow down activity

The cabinet will hold a vote on Saturday evening to decide whether to enact a unilateral cease-fire with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The deal would also call for cooperation between Israel and Egypt on matters relating to the Gaza Strip in which they have shared interests, without the interference of Hamas.

The decision would mean Israel has put an end to the three-week-long Operation Cast Lead without an agreement with Hamas, relying instead on the support of the United States and Egypt in battling arms smuggling into Gaza.

A government source emphasized that there has been great progress with Egypt in reaching an agreement on fighting arms smuggling. The deal would require the combined use of technological measures on the border between Gaza and Egypt, operations against smugglers in the southern Gaza town of Rafah and the use of international experts to identify smuggling tunnels on the border.

On the ground on Kibbutz Nir-Oz

We’re listening to neighbours sweep away pecan leaves as other neighbours crunch among the leaves searching for fallen nuts, the usual early Saturday morning sounds. Life goes on as usual.

The Air Force was busy last night, and all this morning. The sound of constant thuds and booms. We’ve had one Tzeva Adom this morning, a few booms about a minute later, and I’m not sure what else I’ve been hearing on this side of the Strip.

Our kids are returning this evening from their various locations. They’ve been offered another trip to a more northerly kibbutz, but mychildren are utterly tired of being away from home. If we’re here, they want to be as well.

It’s definitely time to start some kind of learning program here on the kibbutz. How else will things ever start to come back to regular living?

The Ma’ale Habsor Principals are setting up an online learning system, where each teacher will be able to direct students and supervise assignments. Teachers will have at their disposal a site with a forum for discussions.

This puts the onus on me to snap into educational frame of mind and set up worksites with some Hebrew instructions for easier accessibility. I’d already set up something but through the initial stages of building and re-building, that work has been lost.